178 THE ACOMA INDIANS [eth. ann.47 



Kasewat crawled out of the oven. The women were dumfounded. 

 The women began to husk the corn which they afterwards took to 

 Fhnt Bird's house. Kasewat slept outside again, that night. 



The ne.xt morning Flint Bird came out and said to Kasewat, 

 "You are going to have to fight with me to-day." Then he ordered 

 Kasewat to prepare two piles of wood. So Kasewat made two piles, 

 one smaller than the other. They were going to set these on fire. 

 Then each one would sit on one pile and see who could stand it 

 longest. Kasewat knew that the Fhnt Bird would choose the smaller 

 pUe. So he spit some medicine on it. That noon Kasewat was not 

 given any dinner. When Fhnt Bird had finished his meal he brought 

 Kasewat's wife out to watch. As Kasewat had anticipated, Flint 

 Bii"d chose the small pUe. When the wood piles were burning, each 

 one sat on one. They were wearing theii- flint suits. Kasewat began 

 to sing a war song. Fhnt Bird repeated it. Kasewat sang another. 

 Fhnt Bird repeated tliis, but not so lustily. The bii-d suit made of 

 pitch pine that Flint Bii'd was wearing was beginmng to burn; more- 

 over, the medicine spat upon the woodpile by Kasewat was beginning 

 to have its effect. Kasewat sang a war song for the third time. 

 This time the voice of Flint Bird was very feeble. At the fourth 

 song Flint Bird died. Then Kasewat jumped oft' his pile and seized 

 Fhnt Bird's mother and threw her on the fu'e. Kasewat's wife came 

 forward and embraced her husband. 



Then Kasewat gathered aU the women together. He divided 

 among them the possessions of Flint Bird — all the buckskins, mantas, 

 beads, etc. They descended to the earth in a basket woven by 

 Spider boy. They passed one day and one night at the home of the 

 old Spider woman, wiio was very glad to see them. Most of the 

 stolen women belonged to the northern pueblos, so they set out for 

 their homes. Kasewat and his wife returned to Ako. All the 

 people were very glad to see the couple again. 



Kasewat Rescues His Wife ff.o.m a Giantess 



Sometime after her adventure with Fhnt Bud, Kasewat's ^v^fe went 

 out to a spring to get some water. While she was there a great giant- 

 ess came up, put the girl in her basket, and carried her off. There 

 used to be some giants in the old daj^s who roamed the country' about 

 Acoma. They carried great baskets on their shoulders. When a 

 giant (cko-yo) found a person out alone he would pick him up and put 

 him in his basket. When the giant got home he would cook the 

 person and eat him.'' 



*' Some mile^ south of ,\com.i, according to native report, there are some great bones, larger, according to 

 description, than those of any living mammal in America. These bones are said to be those of one of the 

 former giants of the region. I looked for these bones one afternoon but was unable to find them. 



